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PHOENIX, Arizona: Republican White House hopeful John McCain enlisted the help of President George W. Bush on Tuesday to raise campaign funds, briefly appearing in public with the unpopular commander-in-chief for the first time in nearly three months. McCain shook hands with the President, whose ratings are at an all-time low, after the fundraiser in the senator's home state of Arizona. Both men avoided taking any questions from the press, with Bush quickly boarding Air Force One for a flight to Colorado.
WASHINGTON: US Defense Secretary Robert Gates departs for Asia on Wednesday for an annual security conference being held this year against the backdrop of massive natural disasters in China and Myanmar. The Shangri-la Dialogue, which will bring top officials and experts from across the Asia-Pacific region to Singapore May 30 to June 1, has been dominated in past years by US concerns over China's military buildup.
YANGON: Outrage over Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest will not detract from relief work, key donors said, as the United Nations on Wednesday reported small gains in getting aid to cyclone survivors. The military regime quietly informed the Nobel Peace Prize winner that she would spend another year confined to her home in Yangon, where she has been locked away for most of the last 18 years. The decision came just two days after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon left Myanmar.
KATHMANDU: Nepal's Maoists said Wednesday that King Gyanendra, whose Himalayan monarchy is on the verge of being abolished, is to be given up to 15 days to vacate his Kathmandu palace. "There has been a proposal to give a formal notice to ask the king to vacate Narayanhiti Palace within a certain time frame," Maoist Spokesman Krishna Bahadur Mahara told Agence France-Presse. "He will be asked to leave in between seven to 15 days' time."
LONDON: A greater international action is needed to halt surging oil prices, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Wednesday, adding that rising energy and fuel costs would not come down without it. Writing in The Guardian newspaper, Brown said domestic action by individual countries would help, and cited Britain's efforts to cut high fuel bills through schemes promoting home insulation and "smart" metering of domestic energy use. "There is no easy answer to the global oil problem without a comprehensive international strategy," said Brown.
-- AFP
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